Hinge

ABSTRACT

A hinge having a pair of leaves formed with interleaving curls pivotally connected by a pair of hinge pins internesting with one another in a press fit and each also preferably having a press fit with a respective one of the hinge curls. One leaf includes integral tang means having an edge parallel to the hinge axis and positioned to locate the hinge accurately along the edge of a door while being attached thereto. The other hinge leaf is shaped to embrace the edge of a door frame and carries clamping screw means for anchoring the hinge in place without need for fasteners.

D United States Patent 1 1 1 3,710,415 Wilson [4 1 Jan. 16, 1973 s41 HINGE 3,390,420 7/1968 Foltz 16/168 [761 Invent Hwy Wilson, 15126 Ram 1223'??? 121135; EZJ;Z.:::....... iiiiiiiifsii Drive, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403 [22] Filed: Nov. 18, 1970 FORElGvN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS pp No: 90,695 677,378 11/1964 ltaly ..l6/l68 Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay [52] U.S. Cl. ..l6/l28, 16/135, 16/158, Assistant Ex min reter A. Aschenbrenner 16/168, 16/169 Attorney-Sellers & Brace [51] Int. Cl. ..E05d 9/00 58 Field of Search 16/128 R, 129-135, 1 ABSTRACT 16/137, 168, 149; 85/4 A hinge having a pair of leaves formed with interleaving curls pivotally connected by a pair of hinge pins References Cited internesting with one another in a press fit and each also preferably having a press fit with a respective one UNITED STATES PATENTS of the hinge curls. One leaf includes integral tang 1,234,887 7/1917 Emory ..l6/128 R means h g an edge parallel to the hinge axis and 1,124,048 1/1915 Malaspina.. ..16/158 positioned to locate the hinge accurately along the 3,433,377 4/1969 Bucholz ..16/135 edge of a door while being attached thereto. The other 1,422,651 7/1922 Baxter ..16/149 hinge leaf is shaped to embrace the edge of a door 1,145,521 7/1915 Stock t frame and carries clamping screw means for-anchoring 3,298,135 I/ 1967 Kmser the hinge in place without need for fasteners.

2,624,067 l/1953 Tassel] ..16/l35 1,482,704 2/1924 Schwartz ..16/ 128 13 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJMI 18 I975 3.71 (L415 INVENTOR HAEFV C. W/L 50M HINGE This invention relates to door hinges and more particularly to a simple, rugged leaf hinge each formed with curls arranged to interleaf with one another and to be held assembled by hinge pin means specially constructed for assembly with a press fit and wherein one 'of the leaves is provided with integral means for'accurately aligning the hinge axis with the edge of a door and wherein the other hinge leaf is shaped to embrace the edge of a door and to be held assembled thereto by a single clamping screw.

The present invention is related to the self latching hinge constructions disclosed in my copending applications for US. Letters Pat. Ser. No. 807,796, filed Feb. 25, 1969, and Ser. No. 90,629, filed simultaneously herewith.

The invention hinge assembly is'particularly suitable for light and medium duty applications as for example, to support cabinet doors. The hinge is specially designed to facilitate its rapid and accurate mounting on the door to be supported after which the door and attached hinges are readily secured astride the edge of a cabinet door frame by simply tightening a clamping screw carried by the U-shaped hinge leaf. The hinge leaves are held assembled by a pair of improved hinge pins accurately formed to internest with one another with a press fit. The two hinge leaves are also provided with curls which interleaf with one another and preferably having portions accurately sized to have a press fit with at least one of the hinge pins. This feature enables the hinge to be assembled without need for upsetting or applying fasteners to the hinge pin. The press fit permits the parts to be disassembled should the occasion arise and reassembled simply by pressing the parts back into their original operating positions.

The door supporting leaves of a pair of hinges are readily and accurately installed on a cabinet door by a novice and with the hinge axes accurately aligned with one another and with the edge of the door, without jigs or other aids, simply by holding locator tang means integral with the hinge leaf against the edge of the door while installing the hinge mounting screws. The hinge leaf employed to mount the door and hinge on the door frame is U-shaped with its bight portion accurately formed to hem a plane parallel to the hinge axis. In consequence, when this bight portion is seated firmly against the edge of the door frame, the operator is assured that the door is properly positioned whereupon the door and installed hinges are anchored to the door frame merely by tightening the clamping screw carried by each hinge. Desirably the hinge also includes built in spring means effective to latch the door closed while leaving it free to move to any desired open position once it is deliberately unlatched. However, the novel mechanism serving these purposes is being claimed in the aforementioned copending applications.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved, simple but rugged leaf hinge assembly readily and accurately installable by a novice without need for jigs and the like aids.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hinge assembly having one leaf shaped to embrace the edge of a door frame and to be clamped thereto by a clamping screw and a second leaf securable to the door with the hinge pivot accurately parallel to the 'door edge by the aid ofa pair of locator tangs integral with the door supporting leaf.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hinge assembly held assembled by a pair of specially formed hinge pins having a press fit with one another in their fully installed position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hinge assembly having a pair of hinge pins having a press fit with the interior surfaces of the hinge curls.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated:

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross sectional view through a cabinet door supported by one preferred embodiment of the invention self latching hinge;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 2-2 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line 3-3 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line 4--4 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line 5-5 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the spring retainer cage;

FIG. 7 is an elevational sectional view taken along line 77 on FIG. 8 but with the door swung counterclockwise from a fully closed position and showing the opposite ends of the spring cage supported on the end curls of the pivoting hinge leaf;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 88 on FIG. 7 but with the door swung further open;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 except showing the door approaching its closed latched position with the spring resting against the high point of the lobes;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 but showing the door moving toward a more fully open position than in FIG. 9 and with the spring resting against the lower lobe;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the hinge per se as viewed from the interior side of its stationary leaf;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross sectional view through the tip of the mounting screw for the stationary leaf; and

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 13-13 on FIG. 3.

Referring initially more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 11, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention self latching hinge assembly designated generally 10. I-Iinge 10 includes a U-shaped first or stationary leaf 11 equipped with a clamping screw 12 holding this leaf clamped to, the edge of a cabinet door frame 13. The second or pivoting. hinge leaf 14 is secured to a cabinet door 15 as by screws 16. One leg of the U-shaped stationary leaf 11 is turned outwardly at substantially 90 thereto and formed into a pair of aligned but axially separated curls 23,23 (FIG. 11). These curls interleaf with axially aligned curls 24,25,26 formed on the out-turned adjacent. edge of the second hinge leaf 14. When accurately intermeshed the curls are held assembled by a pair of hinge pins 20,21 (FIG. 4) the inner ends of which are forcibly telescoped together at 22, the nesting ends having a snug press fit. The interior surfaces 23' contiguous to the adjacent ends of curl 25' also have a snug frictional fit with the juxtaposed surfacesof hinge pins 20,21. Accordingly, it

will be recognized that this latter press fit as well as the press fit between the telescoped ends 22 of the pins supplement one another in holding the hinge pins assembled. Should one of these press fits be defective or inadequate for any reason the other will remain effective to hold the hinge leaves assembled. The outer ends of both pins are headed, as is clearly shown in FIG. 4, and a sharp edged tool may be inserted beneath these heads and used to pry the pins apart should it be desirable for any reason to disassemble hinge leaves 11,14. After disassembly the parts are reassembled by again pressing the pins home. Disassembly may be carried out a number of times without adverse affects on the effectiveness of the several friction fits between the parts.

The mounting of hinge assembly to door frame 13 and door is preferably carried out by first securing the pivoting leaf 14 of a pair of hinges to the inner face of a door 15. As herein shown, door 15 has a bevelled edge 19 serving in part as a finger grip in opening the door and, in part, to conceal a major portion of the hinge area, as is evident from FIG. 1. The accurate positioning of a pair of the hinges preliminary to fastening them to the door with their hinge axes aligned and accurately parallel to the edge 19 of the door is greatly expedited by the provision of positioning and aligning tangs 28,28 best shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5. These tangs are integral with hinge leaf l4 and project outwardly therefrom with one corner edge accurately spaced from and parallel to the hinge axis. Accordingly, the installer merely places a pair of the hinges against the rear face of the door and shifts them to the left as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 5 until tangs 28 are in firm abutment with door edge 19 until the fastening screws 16 are firmly tightened.

Thereafter the hinge-equipped door is easily installed by a novice by placing the U-shaped leaves 11 astride the edge of door frame 13 and holding them firmly in this position while the single clamping screw 12 of each is tightened against the inner surface of the door frame. Clamp-ing screw 12 has a self-tapping thread 12a and the pointed forward end of which shank is forcibly threaded into a dished pressure pad such as washer 12b (FIG. 12). The sharp rim edgeof this pad bites into the wood as screw 12 is tightened and provides a wide area clamping base the holding action of which preferably is supplemented by sharp edged ribs 12c stamped into the inner surface of leaf 11 as is best shown in FIG. 3. These ribs are forced to bite into the outer face of door frame 13 as clamping screw 12 is tightened.

The spring subassembly comprises a spring retainer cage 30, best shown in FIG. 6, and one or more flat leaf springs 31,32. Cage 30 is preferably molded in one piece from a tough resilient thermoplastic material and embodies a considerable number of features best illustrated in FIG. 4, 6 and 7. Cage 30 can be roughly described as generally channel shaped in cross section and is closed at its opposite ends by endwalls 33 which protrude across the opposite ends of spring leaves 31,32 and are recessed to accommodate these ends. The springs may be of different thicknesses and strength and, if desired, a single spring may be employed to provide whatever spring strength is desired for a particular installation. In this connection it will be understood that the stiffer the spring the stronger the latching action. The bottom walls of cage 30 slope upwardly and outwardly to provide camming surfaces 34 to facilitate assembly of the spring in cage 30 and beneath the flat portion of center curl 25 carried by pivoting hinge leaf 14. This detail will become more apparent from following portions of this description. The higher ends 35 of camming surfaces 34 are positioned to engage the adjacent surfaces of the leaf spring when the spring assembly is under high stress and this detail likewise will be described more fully presently.

The mid portion of cage 30 carries a pair of outwardly protruding bosses 36,37. Boss 36 extends into the space between curls 23,23 (FIGS. 4 and 7) and cooperates with these curls to lock the cage against endwise displacement, whereas boss 37 projects outwardly from one side only of cage 30 and lies flush against the interior sidewall of curl 25 (FIG. 3). It will be understood that the total width of cage 30 in a plane passing through bosses 36,37 is such that cage 30 has a close sliding fit between the parallel sidewalls of curl 25, a fact made clear by FIG. 3.

Curl 25 embraces the mid portion of the hinge pin as well as straddles the adjacent portion of the spring and its retaining cage 30. Curl 25 is best shown in FIG. 3 and is generally D-shaped as viewed from either end with its curved side closely embracing the hinge pin and its flat side serving as a fixed rest for the bowed mid portion of springs 31,32. One end of the straight portion of the curl extends into and is staked to an opening 39 of hinge leaf 14, this detail being best shown in FIG. 3. Prior to assembly, spring leaves 31,32 are flat. However, owing to the dimensions of the parts, and the position of the flat shelf portions'of curl 25, the springs are stressed and bowed slightly when in assembled position. This assembly is carried out by first inserting the cage until seated, and then inserting the springs endwise of the cage using cam surface 34 to cam the ad vance end of the spring into assembled position.

When the hinge is in open position, shallow bosses 40 protruding towards the hinge pin from the bottom of cage 30 rest against the adjacent surfaces of curl 24 and 26 in the manner shown in FIG. 7. At this time the opposite ends of the springs are supported on the recesses in the rims of the cage endwall 33 (FIG. 7). However, when the spring assembly is supported on the camming lobes 45, as it is in the position of the parts shown in FIG. 4, springs 31,32 are bowed and bosses 40 are out of contact with curls 24,26. The spring ends are no longer supported on the recessed rims of endwalls 33, but instead on surfaces 35 at the upper higher ends of the camming surfaces 34 of cage 30.

The latching lobes will now be described, it being noted that curls 23 of stationary hinge leaf 11 are considerably wider than the curls of leaf 14. The adjacent ends of curls 23 encircle the hinge pins and grip these pins tightly as aforementioned, whereas the remote ends of curls 23,23 embrace somewhat less than of the hinge pin, with the free end of the curls projecting tangentially to the hinge pin, as is best shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 to form camming lobes 45 each having a high point 46. A supplemental high point 46' (FIGS. 9, 10) has a considerably broader surface circumferentially of the hinge pin and is spaced radially closer to the hinge pin axis than is the highest edge 46 of lobes 45.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that as door moves clockwise from an open position, such as that shown in FIG. 8, toward closed position, that the under or bottom side of the thermoplastic cage will be under no stress because its bosses 40 are at rest against curls 24,26 (FIG. 7). As the door swings to the position shown in FIG. 10, cage 30 pivots in an arc in contact with the relatively low-height supplemental camming surfaces 46 and approaches a position wherein it starts to ride up onto the high portion of the latching lobes 46. Continued clockwise pivotal movement of the door then causes cage 30 to ride on the high point 46 of lobes 45, a position indicated in FIG. 9. At this time, springs 31,32 are bowed to a maximum and are stressed to swing the door closed and hold it firmly latched closed. Under these conditions the parts will be in the position shown in FIG. 4 and the springs will be hearing against surfaces at the upper end of the inclined camming surfaces 34 of the cage. Any further closing pivotal movement of the door carries the springs and supporting cage clockwise beyond the high point 46 of lobes 45 with the result that the stressed condition of the spring snaps the door closed and latches it in that position with the still partially stressed springs pressing against the high edge 46 of lobes 45 from their righthand faces as viewed in FIG. 9.

Door 15 remains firmly closed against the door frame until such time as the operator grasps the left hand of the door edge, as viewed in FIG. 1, and pulls the door counterclockwise about the axis of hinge pins 20,21. In doing so, spring cage 30 rides up onto the high point 46 of the lobes. After it is opened past the position shown in FIG. 9, the released spring stresses tend to accelerate the opening movement but this movement is arrested as the rear face of cage 30 comes into bearing contact with the rising bulge on the lowheight lobes 46. These slow the opening movement as the door continues to pivot to a position generally normal to the front of the cabinet. If desired however, arresting lobe surfaces 46 may be extended to maintain bearing pressure against the bottom surface of retainer 30. When the door swings past surfaces 46' cage bosses will rest against end curls 24,26 (FIG. 7). These curls are attached to the pivoting second leaf and accordingly there is no relative wiping movement between these bosses and the curls.

All wiping movement between any part of the spring cage assembly is confined to the contact of the cage with surfaces 46,46 of camming lobes 45. Since these are located along the inner side of the hinge pins, they are concealed from view.

Reference is now had to FIGS. 2, 9, 10 and 11 from which it will be observed that stationary hinge leaf 11 is considerably larger than hinge leaf 14. This expedient not only strengthens the hinge but makes it feasible to provide a large cut-out in the bight portion and the outer leg of leaf 11 sized to accommodate pivotal movement of smaller leaf 14 into the plane of this cutout. Thus, smaller leaf 14 can occupy a portion of and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the invention, and that no limitations are intended to the detail of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hinge assembly for use in mounting a closure member on the edge of a frame therefor, said hinge assembly comprising: first and second hinge leaves each formed in one piece from sheet stock and each having an L-shaped portion at one end, the shorter leg of each L-shaped portion having interleaving curls crosswise of the outer free ends thereof forming aligned passages, hinge pin means extending through said aligned passages holding said first and second hinge leaves pivotably assembled, the longer and shorter legs of each L-shaped portion projecting in the same direction from their respective junctions and lying in closely spaced parallel relation to one another in the closed position of said hinge assembly, the remotely spaced surfaces of said longer legs being securable one flush againstthe inner surface of a closure member and the other flush against the outer face of a frame for said closure member, and one of the legs of the L-shaped portion of said first hinge leaf having a tang projecting from the junction area of said legs into the space therebetween with one outer transverse edge lying parallel to the axis of said hinge pin means and adapted to engage the edge portion of said closure means and align the axis of said hinge pin means parallel to the edge portion of the closure member while said first hinge leaf is being secured to the closure member.

2. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 1 characterized in that the end of said second leaf remote from said curls is U-shaped with the legs thereof lying parallel to one another and adapted to fit over and embrace the edge of the enclosure frame, and adjustable clamping means threadedly mounted normal to that one of said U-legs remote from the hinge axis and adjustable to clamp said U-shaped second leg rigidly to a closure frame.

3. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 2 characterized in that said clamping means comprises a tooloperated self tapping screw mounted in said one U-leg.

4.' A hinge assembly as defined in claim 3 charac' terized in that the frame engaging inner end of said selftapping screw has a circular pressure pad mounted thereon.

5. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 4 characterized in that said pressure pad is dished and fixed to the end of said self tapping screw.

6. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said hinge pin means comprises a pair of pins installed in said curls from the remote ends thereof and sized to be held in their respective installed positions by a press fit means engaging the inner end portions of each one thereof.

7. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 6 characterized in that said press fit means includes the exterior of the inner end portions of said pair of pins and the juxtaposed surfaces of said curls.

8. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 6 characterized in that said press fit means includes the internested inner ends of said hinge pins.

9. A hinge assembly comprising first and second hinge leaves having aligned interleaving curls, said first hinge leaf having means for securing the same to a closure and said second hinge leaf having means for securing the same to a closure frame, a pair of hinge pin means installed in said aligned curls from the remote ends thereof, one of said pin means having a cylindrical well having a continuous sidewall opening through the inner end thereof having a press fit with the reduced inner end of the other of said pin means thereby effective to hold said hinge pins and hinge leaves firmly assembled, said press fit including an interference fit between the sidewall at the inner end of each of said hinge pin means and the juxtaposed interior surface of a curl of said second hinge leaf.

10. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 9 characterized in the provision of an interference fit between a curl of said second hinge leaf and the juxtaposed surface of said hinge pin'means.

11. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 9 characterized in that said second hinge leaf is formed in one piece from sheet metal and of U-shape to embrace the edge of a closure frame between the legs thereof, and one of the U-legs thereof being provided with a manually adjustable clamping jaw for holding said hinge assembly rigidly clamped to a closure frame.

12. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 9 characterized in that said first hinge leaf includes tang means bent outwardly from one surface thereof closely ad- 10 jacent the pivot axis of said hinge assembly and having 

1. A hinge assembly for use in mounting a closure member on the edge of a frame therefor, said hinge assembly comprising: first and second hinge leaves each formed in one piece from sheet stock and each having an L-shaped portion at one end, the shorter leg of each L-shaped portion having interleaving curls crosswise of the outer free ends thereof forming aligned passages, hinge pin means extending through said aligned passages holding said first and second hinge leaves pivotably assembled, the longer and shorter legs of each L-shaped portion projecting in the same direction from their respective junctions and lying in closely spaced parallel relation to one another in the closed position of said hinge assembly, the remotely spaced surfaces of said longer legs being securable one flush against the inner surface of a closure member and the other flush against the outer face of a frame for said closure member, and one of the legs of the Lshaped portion of said first hinge leaf having a tang projecting from the junction area of said legs into the space tHerebetween with one outer transverse edge lying parallel to the axis of said hinge pin means and adapted to engage the edge portion of said closure means and align the axis of said hinge pin means parallel to the edge portion of the closure member while said first hinge leaf is being secured to the closure member.
 2. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 1 characterized in that the end of said second leaf remote from said curls is U-shaped with the legs thereof lying parallel to one another and adapted to fit over and embrace the edge of the enclosure frame, and adjustable clamping means threadedly mounted normal to that one of said U-legs remote from the hinge axis and adjustable to clamp said U-shaped second leg rigidly to a closure frame.
 3. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 2 characterized in that said clamping means comprises a tool-operated self tapping screw mounted in said one U-leg.
 4. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 3 characterized in that the frame engaging inner end of said self-tapping screw has a circular pressure pad mounted thereon.
 5. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 4 characterized in that said pressure pad is dished and fixed to the end of said self tapping screw.
 6. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said hinge pin means comprises a pair of pins installed in said curls from the remote ends thereof and sized to be held in their respective installed positions by a press fit means engaging the inner end portions of each one thereof.
 7. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 6 characterized in that said press fit means includes the exterior of the inner end portions of said pair of pins and the juxtaposed surfaces of said curls.
 8. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 6 characterized in that said press fit means includes the internested inner ends of said hinge pins.
 9. A hinge assembly comprising first and second hinge leaves having aligned interleaving curls, said first hinge leaf having means for securing the same to a closure and said second hinge leaf having means for securing the same to a closure frame, a pair of hinge pin means installed in said aligned curls from the remote ends thereof, one of said pin means having a cylindrical well having a continuous sidewall opening through the inner end thereof having a press fit with the reduced inner end of the other of said pin means thereby effective to hold said hinge pins and hinge leaves firmly assembled, said press fit including an interference fit between the sidewall at the inner end of each of said hinge pin means and the juxtaposed interior surface of a curl of said second hinge leaf.
 10. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 9 characterized in the provision of an interference fit between a curl of said second hinge leaf and the juxtaposed surface of said hinge pin means.
 11. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 9 characterized in that said second hinge leaf is formed in one piece from sheet metal and of U-shape to embrace the edge of a closure frame between the legs thereof, and one of the U-legs thereof being provided with a manually adjustable clamping jaw for holding said hinge assembly rigidly clamped to a closure frame.
 12. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 9 characterized in that said first hinge leaf includes tang means bent outwardly from one surface thereof closely adjacent the pivot axis of said hinge assembly and having an edge projecting laterally away from said pivot axis and parallel thereto and positioned to engage the edge of a closure to align the pivot axis parallel to the closure edge as the hinge assembly is secured thereto.
 13. A hinge assembly as defined in claim 11 characterized in that said manually adjustable clamping means comprises a self tapping screw threadedly mounted in the U-leg of said second hinge leaf remote from the pivot axis of said hinge assembly. 